Teach Me How to Fly
by A Pencil And A Dream
Summary: Let me tell you a story. It's not a classic love story. In fact, it's actually quite depressing. It doesn't really have a happy ending, either. It will probably have you reaching for the tissues and suppressing your cries of despair. But, if you want to give it a go, I won't stop you. AU. Warning- mentions of suicide and depression.
1. Persuasion

**Hey guys. This is my first multi-chapter story and I would really appreciate any feedback. Thanks and enjoy :)**

* * *

**Reyna**

Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano sat in the back of her friend's car, staring at the bleak and boring landscape beyond the car window. She sighed, wishing she could be someplace else at that moment. Anywhere would be better than where she was being taken.

"Cheer up, Rey" came the feeble attempt of her friends trying to make her feel better. "It won't be that bad, you might even like it."

Reyna snorted. "Come on, Annabeth. Every other way you guys have tried to make me less depressed has failed, why should this be any different?"

"Because," started Percy, Annabeth's boyfriend. "This time, Chiron will be helping you."

"And who, pray tell, is Chiron?" Reyna asked sceptically, not having heard of this man before.

"He runs the program you'll be in. He's really nice, kind of like a second father to me." Annabeth smiled, getting lost in memories for a few seconds before she continued with her description of the man. "He'll be kind of like a mentor to you and the other kids there, helping you along the way. I'm sure you'll like him, almost everyone does."

"Yeah," agreed Percy from the driver's seat. "He's really awesome, and a great teacher, too. He taught me a bunch of stuff about Greek mythology and helped me get an A on my report card."

"And that's almost impossible" Annabeth added, smirking playfully as Percy pouted.

Reyna rolled her eyes, not in the mood for her friend's antics. To be fair, she was never in the mood, having anger issues and all that jazz, but today she was even more frustrated than normal.

Today was the day she would be going to 'Elysium', a support group for depressed and suicidal teenagers. She'd been to support groups before, and they never really worked. Everyone would treat her as if she was made of glass, and she hated it.

But, despite her protests and complaints, her roommates, Annabeth and Percy, had insisted she give Elysium a try. They said it was the last time they would ask her to get help, claiming that if this didn't work, they wouldn't bother her again.

Reyna found that hard to believe, but decided to give it a try. After this failed, and it definitely would, she could finally get some peace.

**Leo**

Leo Valdez was not having a good day. He'd had a nightmare the night before, slept through his alarm and was late for work, messed up 3 orders and tripped twice, forgotten to buy milk on the way home, had been reminded what a failure he was countless times throughout the day, and, to top it all off, he had just found out that he was going to another support group.

"Haven't you given up on me, yet?" he whined to his cousin, Grace. Grace stopped typing on her laptop for a moment to glare at him. Her brown eyes, although slightly hidden behind her fringe, held a confident spark that Leo envied.

"Leo, how many times do I have to tell you? I never give up!" she exclaimed. "And you shouldn't either."

Leo sighed. He loved Grace, he really did, she was the only member of his remaining family who was kind to him. The rest hated him and blamed him for his mother's death, especially his Aunt Rosa. She had almost kicked him out several times, but Grace always stood up for him and convinced her to let Leo stay until he was 17. Then he could move out and start his own life, with Grace's help, of course.

Leo wished he was as optimistic and strong-willed as his cousin, but it was hard considering he had been diagnosed with depression and almost everyone hated him.

"Grace, we've tried so much other stuff, and it's all failed. This one will, too" he said tiredly. He was seriously exhausted and wanted to go to bed, but first he had to try and politely deny another one of Grace's "fantastic ideas".

"Well, yeah, with that attitude, you're bound to fail. But if you just have a little faith in yourself and actually try to succeed, it'll work" Grace reassured him, her eyes never leaving the laptop screen.

"But, Grace…" Leo trailed off, knowing better than to argue with his cousin when her mind was made up. "Fine, I'll go. What's the place called?"

"It's called 'Elysium, a paradise for depressed teens'. It's run by a guy called Chiron, and, apparently, it's really small with only a few other people. You'll be in a small group with about 7 other kids and Chiron will arrange activities and other stuff for you guys to do. The point is to make you have fun and forget about what makes you depressed" Grace read from her laptop, staring at the colourful website before looking up at Leo. "Sounds promising."

Leo raised his eyebrows. "It sounds just like all the other support groups I've been to. I still don't see how this one will be any different"

Grace sighed. "Please Leo," she said in a pleading voice. "Just try it. Promise me you'll really try."

Leo looked at Grace sadly for a few moments, and then gave her a small smile. "Sure," he said. "I'll try it for you."

* * *

**Thanks for reading. I'll try and update tomorrow.**


	2. Hate

**Hey guys, here's chapter 2. It's a bit longer that the first one, hopefully you guys like it.**

* * *

**Leo**

"Elysium" Leo muttered under his breath. "This is not what I expected."

The 16 year old stared at the sight in front of him. He had expected Elysium to be like the other support groups he'd been to; all modern and proper and not very friendly. But he was wrong.

The one-storey building was small and compact, with wide windows on the brick walls and a large wooden door. The door was open, as if it was beckoning Leo to walk inside. There were large letters above it, spelling out 'Elysium, a paradise for depressed teens'.

Leo sighed. He felt bad about being late. When he had woken up that morning and realised he'd slept through his alarm again, it didn't really bother him since he expected this to be like all the others. Now he felt guilty, this was obviously different.

_Looks can be deceiving, _said a voice in the back of his mind, but Leo didn't really listen. He took a deep breath and walked on the gravel path towards the door.

The inside was even better than the outside. There were red leather couches with a wooden coffee table to his left, bathing in the sunlight flowing through the window. And to his right was a large fish tank filled with colourful and beautiful creatures. There was a mahogany receptionist desk opposite the entrance, and sitting at it was a young woman, typing on a computer. She had brown hair that cascaded over her shoulders, with a kind face and friendly smile.

Leo walked towards her, his feet almost sinking in the tan carpet below. The woman looked up at him, and Leo felt hopeful for the first time in years. As he looked into her chocolate brown eyes, he felt like everything was going to be okay.

"Hello, my name is Hestia. How may I help you?" she asked kindly.

"Um, my name's Leo Valdez. I'm here for the support group" he replied, suddenly nervous.

Hestia smiled and looked at her computer screen for a moment, before she looked up and said "It's just through the door to your left. I'm afraid you're a little late, but it doesn't really matter."

Leo sighed in relief, thanked Hestia, and walked to the door to the left of the desk. He put his hand on the golden doorknob and twisted it, opening the wooden door slowly. Inside, there was a group of about 9 people sitting on chairs in a circle, and they were all looking at him.

"Uh, sorry I'm late" Leo said nervously. He didn't feel like he was making a great first impression.

"That's quite all right, boy. Just come in and close the door" said a man in a wheelchair. He had a kind face and was wearing a tweed jacket. He smelled faintly of coffee, and was smiling comfortingly at Leo.

Leo nodded and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He looked around and saw the walls were a creamy-white colour while the floor was the same tan carpet from beyond the door. He sat in the only spot left in the circle of chairs, which happened to be in-between the wheelchair man and a kid who looked about 15, with black hair and pale skin. As he looked around at the other teenagers, he noticed that some looked sad and depressed, some looked angry, and some looked like they were extremely bored and just didn't care.

Leo then shifted his attention to the man, who had started talking.

**Reyna**

To say Reyna was annoyed would be an understatement. Percy and Annabeth had dropped her off ten minutes early, saying she needed to make a good first impression. So she had waited for a while, amused slightly by the man in the wheelchair, who she had learnt was Chiron, trying to start a conversation with her.

Slowly the others had arrived, all complaining that they didn't want to be there, and Reyna agreed with them completely. And then she had to wait even longer for the last kid to arrive, Chiron claiming that they couldn't begin the session until everyone was present.

So, when he finally did show up, Reyna hated him instantly. It was his fault she had to wait for so long.

"Alright, everyone," Chiron spoke way too cheerily for Reyna's liking. "Let's start by going around the circle and introducing yourselves. I'll start. My name is Chiron, for those of you who don't know." He looked pointedly at the girl to his left, silently asking her to introduce herself.

The girl sighed and mumbled "I'm Katie", and it continued on like this. They went around the circle and everyone said their name, but Reyna wasn't really paying attention. The names all got jumbled up in her mind; Travis, Will, Drew, Nico, she didn't really care.

Finally they got around to the last kid, the one who had been late. "I'm Leo" he said, sounding nervous. Reyna rolled her eyes. _What a wimp, _she thought bitterly.

After they were all introduced, Chiron explained that they would spend weeks doing "fun activities" that would make them "happy". Reyna doubted that, but if she was honest, this place was different from the others. But that didn't mean it would work.

After Chiron finished his explanation, he announced, much to Reyna's relief, that that was going to be all for the day and they could go home.

But before she called her friends to come and pick her up, she sent one last harsh glare and the Latino, satisfied when he shivered under her stare.

After that, she was ready to leave this "Paradise".

* * *

**Thanks for reading :) I'll update tomorrow, please review.**


	3. Tears

**Hey guys. Thanks for all the support and reviews you've given me, it's really inspired me to keep writing this story. I have lots of ideas about where I want to take this, so look forward to more updates. **

**Disclaimer: PJO belongs to Rick Riordan, not me. But I do own Grace.**

* * *

**Leo**

"So, how did it go?" was the first thing Leo heard as he walked into his room. He turned his head and saw Grace was sitting on his bed doing homework, but as soon as she saw him walk in, she pushed her work to the side and looked at him pointedly.

"Uh, fine, I guess" Leo replied as he sat on the bed across from her. He looked around the room and saw that Grace had neatly made his bed and tidied up a bit. There was still a little dust lying here and there and a few piles of dirty clothes on the carpet, but it looked a lot better than when he had left it.

"Are you feeling happier?" Grace asked, staring intently at his face as if she could pull the answer out of him.

Leo rolled his eyes. "It's going to take at least a few sessions for me to start feeling better."

"Well, you have two sessions each week. The one on Tuesday will mainly be about talking to the others and expressing how you feel. And the one on Friday will have some activities, both indoor and outdoor, to make you happy." Grace sounded as if she had memorised this from the Elysium website.

"Did you spend the whole day doing research?" Leo asked wearily. He didn't want his cousin to go through so much trouble for him. He didn't deserve her kindness after what he did to his mother. He was a failure and should be living on the streets. He-

"No, not the whole day" Grace said, interrupting his depressing thoughts. "I just thought I'd look into it a bit more. I wanted to see if it would be good for you. How were the other kids? Were they nice? Did you like them? Do-"

"Grace!" Leo exclaimed. "Calm down. I can only answer one question at a time." He took a deep breath before saying "The others were fine, I didn't get to talk to them that much since all we did was introduce ourselves, but I tried to remember their names. I'll talk to them a bit more in the next session. They all seemed okay, except…" he trailed off, not sure if he wanted to talk about the girl who was glaring at him the whole time.

"Except what?" Grace asked, willing him to tell her.

Leo was hesitant for a moment, but then mentally slapped himself. This was Grace he was talking to, he could tell her anything.

"There was this one girl." Leo ignored how Grace raised her eyebrows at that statement and continued talking. "She looked like she wanted to murder me. I think her name was Reyna or something like that. I don't know what I did to her, but I'm pretty sure she hates me."

Grace put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it too much, Leo" she said in a comforting tone. "She's depressed, just like you and all the others there. Give her a chance, try and talk to her on Friday, be nice to her. You might become friends."

Leo nodded. Maybe that was what he needed to make him happy; a friend. Sure, Grace was great, but she was more like a big sister, almost a mother. He wanted a real friend who wasn't related to him, and this Reyna girl might be just that.

**Reyna**

As soon as Percy and Annabeth left the house to go on their date, Reyna went to her small room and sat on her bed. All of the anger she'd felt that day had drained her energy, and all she really wanted to do was sleep. But there was someone she had to talk to first.

She reached over the white sheets to open a drawer in her nightstand. Inside there was a large assortment of junk, from overdue school assignments to discarded candy wrappers. But at the bottom of the pile was Reyna's most valuable possession.

Her fingers trembled as she picked up the old, worn out photograph. The edges were torn and the corners were dusty, but it was the only thing Reyna had left of her old life. It was a photo of her sister, Hylla.

Reyna stared at the young woman in the photo, Hylla's black hair and dark eyes were almost identical to hers. She was smiling, she was happy, and it was achingly hard for Reyna to remember the last time she had seen her like that. She would give anything just to see her in person again.

"Hi Hylla" she whispered to the photo, hating how weak her voice sounded. This had become like a tradition to her. Every night since she was 14, she would talk to the picture and pretend Hylla was there with her.

It was horribly pathetic; Reyna had admitted that a long time ago, but there was no one else she could talk to. Percy and Annabeth wouldn't understand and no one else cared. So she had resorted to pouring out her feelings to an inanimate depiction of her only family.

"I went to another support group today. It was a bit nicer than the others, but there was this one kid who was late…" Reyna continued to rant about her day and express her emotions to the photo, glad no one was there to see her.

She spoke about Chiron and Hestia, the other teenagers in the group, the annoying guy who was late; anything and everything that she needed to get out of her system. By the end, tears were pouring down her face.

'I'm pathetic' she thought. 'I'm talking to a photo. A _photo_!'

But it didn't matter how many times she said that, she would continue to do it every night until she died. Until she was with Hylla again.

* * *

**As always, thanks for reading, please review, and I'll update tomorrow. And if anyone is confused, Percy and Annabeth are almost 20 years old, Leo and Reyna are 16 and Grace is 18. Just thought I'd clear that up. If you have any questions then PM me or leave a review.**


	4. Mistakes

**Hey guys. I just want to thank you guys for reviewing, you're all really awesome and I love you all :) Enjoy this chapter, it's slightly longer than the others.**

* * *

**Reyna**

"Today, we'll be getting to know each other a little better by performing trust exercises" Chiron announced cheerfully once everyone had sat down.

Reyna groaned along with the rest of the group. She was tired, upset, angry, and had a major migraine from crying so much last night, not that she would admit that to anyone.

"Now, there's no need for that attitude. It will be fun and you all might make some friends." Chiron assured them with a smile.

Reyna rolled her eyes. Chiron was way too happy for her liking and she couldn't wait to get out of there.

After Chiron told them they would be going outside, he wheeled himself out of the room with the others following slowly. Reyna stayed towards the back, hoping that maybe no one would notice her and she wouldn't have to participate.

"Hey" said a voice right next to her. Reyna snapped her head to the left and saw the last person she wanted to talk to; the kid who was late, Leo. Sure, he hadn't been _that_ late, and Reyna was probably overreacting, but she was definitely one to hold a grudge. Until he proved himself worthy of her forgiveness, she would ultimately hate him.

"So, uh, how are you?" his weak attempt at a conversation was almost amusing, but Reyna didn't laugh.

"Leave me alone" she answered shortly. They had just reached the front door and Reyna stepped outside, breathing in the fresh summer air. She quickly walked away from Leo, trying to get as much distance between them as possible. She didn't want to talk to him, or anyone else for that matter, and she made an effort not to pay attention to the hurt look on his face.

As Reyna took in her surroundings, she noticed just how beautiful the garden in front of the building was. There was a large willow tree to her right, its boughs hanging over a small pond. There was also a bench in the shade of the tree and Reyna was pretty sure she saw some fish in the pond. To her left was a large flat area of grass, trees scattered across it. A gravel path wound its way through the tall trees, blotches of sun colouring it in random places.

"Alright everyone. Our first activity will be the trust fall" Chiron's voice brought her out of her musings. "If you're not familiar with it, I shall explain. First, you'll need to find a partner. There are eight of you so that shouldn't be a problem. Then, one of you will stand in front of the other and fall backwards. The other has to catch them. It's simple, but you need to trust that the person behind you will catch you. Any questions?" Chiron asked, the smile never leaving his face.

Since no one had any questions, Chiron instructed them to find a partner. Reyna realised that Leo was walking towards her and she frantically went in search of someone else to be her partner. But everyone she asked would say that they already had one. After asking everyone else to be her partner with no success, Reyna turned around to face her pursuer.

"What do you want?" she asked harshly, even though she already knew why he was following her.

"Will you be my partner?" he asked, blinking his chocolate brown eyes.

Realising she couldn't really say no, Reyna sighed and nodded. Leo smiled slightly, as if he had just accomplished something. Reyna didn't know why he was so persistent to talk to her, and she didn't really care, but a small part of her sort of liked the attention.

"Alright, everyone ready?" not waiting for an answer, Chiron instructed them to stand with one person in front of the other. Reyna studied Leo for a few seconds and noticed that despite his scrawny body shape, she could see he had some muscles. But she still didn't trust him to catch her, so she grabbed his shoulders and spun him around so that his back was facing her.

Noticing the anxious glance that Leo sent over his shoulder, Reyna rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I'll catch you" she assured him.

After looking at her for a few more seconds, Leo nodded and mumbled "You'd better."

After a frustrating countdown from 3, Leo nervously started to lean backwards until he finally lost his balance and Reyna slipped her arms under his armpits. She then lifted him back up to a standing position where he turned around and stared at her in wonder.

"You caught me" he sounded shocked, as if he thought that Reyna would drop him.

Reyna rolled her eyes. "Well, I wasn't going to let you fall and knock me down as well, was I?" she asked sarcastically.

Leo nodded, still looking at her in astonishment. Reyna snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to Leo?"

Leo blushed and, after muttering a quick apology, moved to stand behind Reyna, getting ready to catch her. Reyna didn't know if she trusted Leo to catch her, but she knew there was no way to get out of it and decided she had better get it over and done with.

After making sure he was ready, she started to lean back. Suddenly, she felt slender arms holding her up. Leo was reasonably strong and helped her get back into a standing position.

Once she was up, she turned around and looked at him. He offered her a small smile, which she tentatively returned.

But, of course, that happiness couldn't last.

**Leo**

Leo was shocked. After Reyna had been hostile towards him when he tried to talk to her, he had honestly expected her to let him fall. But she didn't, and he considered that as progress in his mission to befriend her.

The next activity that Chiron said they would be doing was called 'Land Mines'. He explained that he would place items in random places around the trees and they had to pretend that they were land mines. Still in the same pairs, one of them would be blindfolded and the other would have to guide them around the landmines only using words.

After Chiron had finished explaining and had put random items all around the trees, Leo turned to look at Reyna.

"Do you want to be the blindfolded one?" he asked her. Reyna shrugged and walked up to Chiron to get a blindfold. After Leo was sure she couldn't see anything, he led her close to the first object.

"Okay," he started. "Step once to your left, and then forward." Reyna did what he told her to, and she avoided the land mine easily.

They continued like this for about a minute, and they were doing well, until Leo started to get a little distracted. He could hear birds chirping and was reminded of his childhood where he would go outside with his mother to enjoy nature. While he wasn't paying attention, Leo was giving Reyna random directions like "Left, right, forward."

Suddenly, he was brought out of his thoughts by a loud bump. He looked up and cringed, his random instructions had led Reyna to walk right into a tree. She ripped her blindfold off angrily and Leo saw the beginnings of a bruise on her forehead.

"S-sorry" he stuttered, but Reyna was seriously pissed off.

"You idiot!" she yelled. "How could you let me walk into a tree? How hard is it to give me simple instructions? You're so stupid! Argh!"

Leo stared at her, shocked that she was so angry. He noticed that the others were looking over to see what the commotion was. "I'm sor-" he tried again, but Reyna was on a roll.

"I don't care if you're sorry, that won't undo it! I'm gonna have an even worse headache now, and it's your fault!"

Chiron rolled over to them and spoke to Reyna gently. "Reyna, are you sure you're not overreacting?"

Reyna glared harshly at him. "No, no I'm not. If it's alright with you, I'll be going home." Instead of waiting for an answer, Reyna stomped away from them angrily.

Leo sighed. He'd just ruined any possible chance of friendship with Reyna, she really hated him now.

'Don't give up' said a small voice in the back of his mind. Leo took a deep breath. He wouldn't give up. He would try and talk to Reyna in their next session, and, if that didn't work, he would try again in the one after that. He wouldn't give up on her, even if it killed him.

* * *

**Thanks for reading guys. I hope you enjoyed that chapter. Make sure to review, it really helps me a lot. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.**


	5. Panic

**Hey guys. First of all, I'm really sorry I haven't been updating for the past couple days. I've been really busy with family stuff and hopefully it won't happen again. **

**Also, this chapter is dedicated to MailMyselfToYou who gave me the idea of a panic attack. I tried to write it to the best of my ability and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

**Leo**

Leo sighed with relief as he walked into his bedroom. Grace was sitting on his bed reading a book. He really needed someone to talk to about Reyna and their fight. He also needed some advice, and Grace was the perfect person for that.

"Hey Leo" Grace greeted him as she closed her book and pushed it to the side.

"Hi Grace" Leo replied tiredly. He was still a little shocked that Reyna had gotten so angry at him. It was just a little mistake, and he'd said he was sorry.

"What's wrong?" Grace asked him, noticing how upset Leo looked.

"Well," Leo started, sitting across from his cousin on the bed. "Reyna and I had a fight today."

Grace raised her eyebrows. "A fight? About what?"

"We were doing this trust exercise thing and I kind of accidentally made her walk into a tree" he said sheepishly, looking down at his lap.

"Why did you do that?" Grace asked.

Leo's eyes widened. "It was an accident, I swear! I got distracted for a few seconds and she walked into a tree. And I tried to tell her that it wasn't my fault but she just started yelling at me and getting really angry. I think she might have anger issues or something."

Grace frowned at him. "She probably does have anger issues; you all have problems so that shouldn't really be a shock. And try to apologise to her in your next session, which is on Tuesday, I think. Maybe she'll be cooled off by then and you guys can start over."

"I doubt she'll want to even see me, let alone talk to me" Leo sighed, he knew from the beginning that befriending Reyna wouldn't be easy.

Grace rolled her eyes. "Leo, how many times do I have to tell you-"

"I know, I know!" Leo cut her off. "Never give up. And don't worry, I wasn't going to, anyway. I'm going to talk to her on Tuesday and try to get our friendship back on track."

Grace's smile was a mile wide as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Leo's neck, pulling him into a warm hug. "I'm so proud of you! I've taught you so well!"

Leo laughed as he hugged his cousin back. He was really grateful to have someone to talk to, and he wouldn't give up Grace for the world. He didn't know what he would do without her.

**Reyna**

"And then I walked right into a tree!" Reyna choked out around her sobs, her tears falling onto the picture she held in her trembling hands.

"I can't believe he let me walk into a tree. I mean, is it that hard to give someone simple directions?" Reyna sniffed as she stared at the photo of her sister. Reyna remembered how Hylla was always strong and hardly ever cried, and she cursed herself for being such a baby.

Walking into the tree wasn't a big deal, and she felt bad about blowing up at Leo. He'd said he was sorry, what more could he do?

_I'm being an idiot, _she though bitterly. _Hylla would hate me for breaking down right now. She'd hate me… if she was here. If she was alive. If I had been a better sister. If I had helped her. If-_

Reyna's thoughts were cut short as she heard the front door close downstairs. Percy and Annabeth were home, and they would find her sitting on her bed and crying like a baby.

She quickly jumped up and raced to her bedroom door, slamming it shut and locking it. She couldn't let them see her like that; they'd think she was weak.

"Reyna? Are you up there?" she barely heard Annabeth's concerned voice over her own heavy breathing. Her mind was locked in a battle against itself, one half hating her and the other half comforting her.

_You're weak. You're a child. You're not worthy of anyone's attention. _

She backed away from the door, bumping into her bed.

_Open the door and let them in. They can help you, they care about you._

Her hand tentatively reached out for the doorknob.

_If you let them in, they'll only realise how pathetic you are and will kick you out. Don't open the door._

Her heart was beating faster, her breathing more erratic.

_They want to see if you're okay. They wouldn't be knocking on the door if they didn't care._

"Reyna? Are you in there?" she heard from outside her door. They were right outside her door!

_They don't care about you. No one does. You don't deserve to live._

Reyna glanced around her room with wide eyes. There were plenty of sharp objects…

_Listen to your friends! They care!_

"Reyna! Let us in!" Was that Percy's voice? She could hardly hear it over the loud banging on her door.

_If you let them in, you'll just prove how weak you are. Weak._

She was hyperventilating; her heart was threatening to beat out of her chest.

"Reyna! Please open the door! Please!"

_**Weak.**_

The banging on her door was louder, her breathing was faster, she was clutching the photo in her hand like it was a lifeline.

_**Weak!**_

"I'm going to break the door down, Reyna!" She let out a strangled cry. They would see her; she couldn't let them see her.

**_Weak! Pathetic! Unworthy!_**

She was rummaging in her drawers, looking for something sharp. It sounded like someone was ramming into her door, but she could hardly hear anything over the blood rushing in her ears. She found a jagged piece of crystal that she'd gotten from Annabeth. But she couldn't bring herself to do it.

**_WEAK!_**

And then everything happened at once. Just as the door burst down and Percy and Annabeth stumbled inside, Reyna plunged the crystal into her stomach, letting out a scream. Her friends' eyes widened, but she wasn't paying attention to them. Through the tears in her eyes she could see the photograph that had fallen to the floor. It was crumpled and ripped, looking even worse than usual.

Reyna smiled.

As Percy and Annabeth rushed towards her, she giggled.

As they pried her bloody hands away from her wound, she chuckled.

As Annabeth tried to stop the bleeding while Percy called an ambulance, she laughed.

She was happy; she would get to see Hylla again.

* * *

**I feel evil for ending the chapter like that... oh well. Please review :)**


	6. Heal

**Alright guys, this one's kind of short, but the next one will definitely be longer. I promise.**

**Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure Rick Riordan isn't a 13 year old Australian girl... right?**

* * *

**Reyna**

When Reyna woke up in a small white room with blinding lights on the ceiling and an infuriating beeping next to her ear, she was seriously confused. She looked around tiredly and noticed that she was in a hospital, which just served to make her even more confused.

When did she go to a hospital? Why was she there? What happened?

All of a sudden, the memories hit her like a freight train.

_Locking her door... Hearing those voices... The crystal... The pain..._

Reyna shook her head fiercely in an attempt to rid her mind of the thoughts, just to wince in pain as she was assaulted by a painful headache. She groaned as her head throbbed in agony.

"Reyna?" she heard a tentative voice call her name.

"Reyna, are you okay?" asked the same voice, and Reyna recognised it as Annabeth's.

"Annabeth?" she asked wearily, blinking to bring her vision back into focus. Her headache was fading but she still felt sick. She saw her friend sitting on a chair to the right of her bed, looking extremely tired. She also noticed Percy sleeping on a couch on the other side of the room.

"I'm here Rey" Annabeth assured her, holding her hand gently.

"What happened after…?" she trailed off, not wanting to remember the weak state she was in.

Annabeth was looking at her in concern, like she really cared. "Well, Percy called an ambulance while I managed to slow the bleeding down a bit. And then the ambulance showed up and drove you to the hospital. There wasn't that much damage since the crystal was pretty blunt, but I should let the doctor explain that."

Reyna was about to ask what doctor she was talking about when a tall blonde man walked in. His name tag read 'Apollo'. He stood in front of her bed and looked at his clipboard for a few more moments before smiling at her.

"Hi there, sweetheart. I'm guessing you'd like to know what happened to you" he said.

Reyna nodded slightly, gesturing for him to continue.

"Well, I must say that you're quite lucky. The crystal only pierced your skin slightly because of the thick clothes you were wearing and the fact that it wasn't that sharp. There's no internal damage and all we had to do was stitch you up a bit, which only took a few hours. It could've been a lot worse" he explained, glancing at his clipboard every now and then.

Reyna didn't know how to feel. Should she feel happy that she was alive, or upset that she would have to continue living? It was extremely depressing to even be having these thoughts, and Reyna was really confused.

She was relieved that she didn't die; she knew that Annabeth and Percy would be devastated if she did. And maybe Leo, too.

_I'm being stupid, _she thought. _He wouldn't want anything to do with me after I got so mad at him. And once he finds out that I'm a suicidal freak, he'll hate me and will never speak to me again._

But she was also slightly disappointed. She wouldn't get to see her sister if she was alive. The only things she had left of Hylla were her memories and the old photograph.

"Reyna?" Annabeth's voice dragged her out of her musings. "Are you okay?"

Reyna stared at her for a while before replying. "No, I'm not. And I don't think I will be for a while."

"What can I do to make you feel better?" Reyna softened at how shaky her friend's voice was. Annabeth had probably been worried sick for the past few hours.

"I don't know, but I think it'll help if I keep going to Elysium. You were right; it's different from the others. And Leo's not that bad…"

"Who's Leo?" Annabeth asked, and Reyna realised with a shock that she hadn't told her about her new friend. Wait, friend? Could she even call him a friend? They'd only talked for a little while and most of that had consisted of her shouting at him. Reyna winced, she really felt horrible about that. He didn't deserve it. She silently made a vow to apologise to him in their next session, it was the least she could do.

Reyna then realised that Annabeth had asked her a question and was now staring at her strangely for going silent. She smiled apologetically and then did her best to explain the little she knew about Leo Valdez.

* * *

**I told you it was short. Sorry Leo wasn't in it, I couldn't think of what to write for him since he already had his Grace-talk last chapter. Oh well, he'll definitely be in the next one.**


	7. Forgive

**Hey guys, sorry for taking a while, but my internet has been really slow and sometimes it just stopped working altogether. But don't worry, it's fixed now and super fast.**

**Also, I went back to school yesterday, and I got homework on the first day :( And updates might be slightly slower since I'm back at school, but I promise that I'll try my best to update as frequently as I can.**

**Also, thank you to the people who are leaving ideas in their reviews. I didn't use them in this chapter, but they'll probably be in the next.**

**I think I've rambled enough, so read this chapter and enjoy :)**

* * *

**Reyna**

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Percy asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Reyna sighed. Her friends had been extremely worried about her after the… incident. They were even more concerned when she decided that she wanted to go back to Elysium.

"Yes, Percy. I'll be fine" she replied tiredly. Her green-eyed friend was driving her to the support group while Annabeth was visiting her family in San Francisco for her father's birthday. Annabeth had wanted to stay and help Reyna out more, but she had assured her that her father's birthday was more important.

Percy reached over and took her hand in his. "Are you sure?" he asked again. Reyna noticed how concerned he was, and she realised how lucky she was to have a friend like him. She smiled comfortingly at him.

"Yes, Percy. I'm sure. I won't do anything stupid again" she said sincerely. She had noticed the dark circles under her friend's eyes and came to the conclusion that he had hardly slept because of how worried he was.

"Okay" was his simple reply, but Reyna knew that she had reassured him.

A few minutes later, they arrived at Elysium and Reyna gave Percy a quick one-armed hug before exiting the car. As she walked to the front door, she glanced to the side and her heart clenched when she saw the spot where she had bumped into the tree.

_I need to apologise to Leo today, _she thought as she walked through the front door.

"Good morning, Reyna" Hestia greeted her from the front desk. "How are you feeling?"

Reyna smiled. Hestia was a kind young woman and was easy to talk to. She had a warm and homey feeling about her.

"I'm fine, thanks" she replied softly. Hestia went back to typing on her computer as Reyna walked to the door on the left. When she entered, she saw that a few of the others and Chiron were already there, and there were only two empty seats. Chiron smiled kindly at her as she walked in.

As she took her seat and looked around the room, Reyna noticed that Leo wasn't there yet. Her heart sped up.

_What if he won't come because of me? What if I scared him away? What if-_

Her panic suddenly dissipated as the door opened and Leo walked in. He looked like his normal scruffy self, except there were dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept well. But he still looked good.

_Whoa, looked good? Since when do I care? _She asked herself. But as she continued to look at Leo, she saw that it was true. He did look good.

As Leo sat down in his seat next to Chiron, he glanced up at her and flashed her a quick smile before looking down at the ground. Reyna didn't know what to think. Was he upset with her for getting mad at him? Had he forgiven her?

_He can't forgive you if you don't apologise, _she told herself. _Duh._

Caught up in her musings, Reyna didn't notice that the final member of the group, Nico, had arrived. Once he had taken his seat on the other side of Leo, Chiron decided to start the session.

"Alright, everyone. Since today is Tuesday, we'll be staying indoors and talking with each other. Let's start by everyone saying one thing you wish you could change about your past. Katie, you may start."

Katie sighed. "I wish my mom didn't leave my dad" she said sadly. Some of the others around the circle nodded at her statement, as if they had the same problem.

Next was Travis. "I wish my brother was still alive" he muttered. Reyna nodded in understanding. She could definitely relate.

They continued going around the circle, and with each depressing statement Reyna felt like she knew these people better. She felt like they were all growing closer, little by little.

When it was her turn, Reyna only hesitated for a second before saying "I wish my sister was alive." She felt like she could trust them and gave them her full attention as they continued.

After Nico told them that he wished his sister was alive, to which Reyna smiled sadly at, they finally got to Leo.

He took a deep breath before saying "I wish my mother was alive."

Even though she felt bad for him, Reyna couldn't really relate. She'd never known either of her parents; it had always just been her and Hylla. A kind woman named Circe had taken them in when they were young, and she had raised them and been like the mother they never had. She had owned a spa and most of Reyna's memories were of working at the spa with Hylla and coming home to Circe's apartment at night.

But, when she was 7 and Hylla was 10, Circe's spa had been robbed and Circe was killed in the process. They had been homeless for about 7 years until they met Percy and Annabeth, who had both been kind to them.

The young couple had been living in an apartment together for a few months and were more than happy to help the two sisters. They'd welcomed them with open arms and Reyna would always be grateful to them.

But, after only a few months of happiness, everything went wrong.

"Thank you for sharing, everyone" Chiron said, bringing Reyna out of her thoughts. "I'm glad you trusted each other with that personal information."

Reyna felt a small smile tugging at her lips as she realised the progress they'd made. The others all looked slightly happier. Of course it would take a lot more work for them to be completely cured of their depression, but they were all getting better, little by little.

**Leo**

Leo was a little surprised with himself. Usually when he talked, or even thought, about his mother, he'd break down and start crying. It was pathetic, he knew that, but he couldn't help it. His mother had been the only person he cared about for 8 years, and when she'd died, a part of him broke.

He didn't like talking about her with anyone, not even Grace, because it brought back horrible memories of the fire. But he'd just told a group of troubled teens, who he barely knew, that his mother was dead. And he hadn't gone insane with misery.

Leo supposed it was because these people had been in similar situations and that they understood where he was coming from and this gave him comfort and strength. Maybe this support group would work after all.

He focused his attention back on Chiron who was explaining what they were going to do next.

"For the next activity, you'll have to get into pairs," he stated. At this, Leo's eyes flickered over to Reyna and, to his surprise; she was looking back at him with her beautiful dark eyes.

_Wait, what? Beautiful dark eyes? _He thought. He hadn't really paid attention to Reyna's eyes before, but now he saw that they were quite pretty.

_Snap out of it, Valdez. Focus on what Chiron is saying or you'll make a fool out of yourself. _Deciding to listen to the voice in the back of his head, Leo turned back to the man in the wheelchair.

"Once you have your partner, we'll go out to the main room. All I want you to do is talk with each other. You can talk about anything, just have a conversation. Become friends. That's all."

Leo was a little shocked and confused. Usually the activities were more complex than that, having a conversation didn't seem to fit in with the other activities they'd done. But Leo assumed that Chiron knew what he was doing and decided not to question it.

When Chiron gave them the order to get in pairs, Leo went straight for Reyna. He wasn't sure if he wanted to say sorry to her for the tree incident, or if he wanted to wait for her to apologise. He just wanted to make up with her.

"Hey" he greeted her in a soft voice.

"Hi" she replied, her voice just as small as his. Then, at the same time, they started talking.

"I'm sorry about-"

"I wanted to apologise for-"

They both stopped and stared at each other in silent amusement mixed with shock. Leo was the first to break, a laugh escaping his lips.

"Um, I forgive you?" he said uncertainly, almost as if he was asking a question.

Reyna chuckled and replied with "Sure. I, uh, forgive you too."

Leo grinned. "So, we're good?" he asked.

Reyna laughed. "Yeah, we are." Then she started to walk out to the main room, Leo following closely behind, shaking his head in amusement. He'd been stupid to worry. They were friends again.

* * *

**Okay guys, hope you enjoyed. I already know what I'm doing for the next chapter and I've even started writing the beginning of it, so I should be updating pretty fast. If I don't get too much homework, that is.**


	8. Talk

**Hey guys. Sorry for taking a while, but school has been keeping me really busy. But I have a feeling you might like this chapter, so read on.**

* * *

**Leo**

"So, um, how do you feel?" Leo asked, not sure what to ask. Reyna laughed from where she was sitting next to him on the couch.

"I'm fine, thanks. What about you?" she replied.

"Well, if I'm honest, I'm feeling a little stupid." When Reyna looked at him questioningly, he decided to elaborate. "I mean, I don't get why we're doing this whole conversation thing. Usually Chiron's activities are more…" he trailed off, looking for the right word.

"Complicated?" Reyna offered, and Leo nodded. "You're right, this is a little strange. And I honestly don't see how it'll help us."

"Exactly" Leo smiled, glad that Reyna was seeing his point.

"Well, what are we gonna do about it?" Reyna asked him, and Leo frowned thoughtfully. He cast his gaze around the small lobby and its occupants. His eyes drifted over to Drew and Will standing together awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Travis and Katie sitting on the floor, quietly arguing over something. Nico and a girl who Leo remembered was Thalia, having what seemed like an emotionless conversation in the corner.

Then his gaze locked onto Chiron and Hestia talking at the receptionist desk. Chiron had wheeled himself behind the desk and he and Hestia were chatting animatedly. Suddenly, an idea started to form in Leo's mind. He swivelled his head around to look at the front door and saw that is was wide open to let some fresh air in. He turned back to Chiron and Hestia, seemingly not paying attention to the group, then looked back to the door. He smiled to himself.

"Hello? Earth to Leo?" Reyna's slightly amused voice brought him out of his thoughts. He looked at her apologetically, but the smile never left his face.

"Sorry" he said, but his mind was focused on the very promising idea that had formed.

"That's alright" Reyna replied. "What are you thinking?" she asked after some hesitation.

"I'm thinking that we can get out of here" he said in a low voice as if he was afraid that someone would hear him.

Reyna raised an eyebrow. "Get out of here? How?"

Leo smiled mischievously at her, and the corners of Reyna's mouth turned slightly upwards. His eagerness was contagious.

"Chiron and Hestia are distracted, no one is paying any attention to us, and the front door is wide open" he gestured with his hands as he spoke, obviously very excited.

"I like the way you think" Reyna grinned, eager to have some fun.

"Well then, let's get to it." As Leo finished speaking, he started to stand up and slowly made his way to the door. Reyna followed closely behind him, stepping quietly to not alert the others. They stepped outside and glanced back to see if anyone was watching, but no one was. And then they ran.

**Reyna**

Reyna felt free as they sprinted away from the building. She was grinning from ear to ear and knew that Leo was doing the same. The wind blew through her hair as they ran past the willow tree and far away from Elysium.

They kept running until Reyna saw a cliff edge to their right. She grabbed Leo's hand and dragged him towards it, where they collapsed on the soft green grass. Through her heavy panting, Reyna laughed. It was strained and breathy, but it communicated the absolute happiness she was feeling.

She hadn't had this much fun in a long time, and she was even more ecstatic because Leo was with her. That thought made her feel warm inside and she would've smiled wider if she'd been physically able. Instead she just lay there next to Leo for a while and stared up at the sky.

"That was awesome" she stated, breaking the comfortable silence between them. Leo chuckled from where he lay next to her.

"Yeah" he agreed, and Reyna turned to look at him. His eyes were closed and he looked completely at peace. His eyes opened slowly and he turned his head and stared back at her, making Reyna's heart beat faster. They were so close.

But then common sense caught up with her, and she realised that she wanted to get to know Leo better before they did anything. Besides, they were just friends.

So she sat up and looked at their surroundings instead. They were near the edge of a cliff and there was a semicircle of lush trees around them. She could hear waves crashing down far below and made a mental note to not get too close to the edge of the grassy cliff.

Leo stood up to her left and offered her a hand, which she took gratefully. When she was in a standing position, she brushed the grass off of her jeans and arms, and then she looked at Leo and saw that he was looking out over the cliff edge. She followed his gaze and gasped quietly in awe.

The sun was about to set, turning the sky a crimson colour, and Reyna realised they must've been lying there a lot longer than she'd thought. The sky reflected on the water below, and Reyna smiled at the wonderful array of colours before her. It was absolutely beautiful.

There was a strong wind blowing around Reyna and Leo as they sat on the edge of the cliff, throwing safety out the window. The wind was blowing harshly but they wanted to get a better view of the sunset, a sight they might not see again.

As her hair whipped around her face and her clothes were almost torn off her, Reyna felt Leo's arm wrap around her shoulder and she suddenly felt safe. She leaned into his touch, taking comfort in his warmth.

"So, how do you feel?" Leo asked her, mimicking his words from earlier that day.

Reyna smiled and considered how to answer. She wasn't sure she could express how she felt in words. Happy just wasn't enough. There she was, watching a gorgeous sunset with Leo, the wind whipping around them as they snuggled close together. How could she put that into words?

Then she got the perfect idea and, moving before she could stop herself, she turned to face Leo, using her hands to cup his face and make him look at her. She ignored the wide-eyed look he gave her and relished in the perfect moment.

"I feel like I can fly" she said, summing up her feelings perfectly. And then she kissed him.

* * *

**Dun Dun Dunnn... hope you enjoyed ;) **


End file.
